If Israeli citizens do not cooperate in efforts to contain the new coronavirus outbreak and the morbidity continues to rise, the government will bring back some restrictions, especially those connected with the green pass, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday.
There has been a slight but consistent rise in serious cases, the number of which stood at 34 on Sunday evening, compared with its lowest figure, 21, some two weeks earlier.
“In the last week there has been an increase in the rate of infection,” Bennett said at the beginning of Sunday’s cabinet meeting. “As part of what we have learned from the past, we will not wait to protect the health of Israeli citizens.”
The government’s goal is to achieve the highest level of protection with the minimum disruption of daily life, he emphasized.
Bennett called on all those eligible for a vaccine to go and get inoculated, as well as for everyone to respect the requirement to wear masks indoors.
“Without the cooperation of the citizens of Israel, and if the morbidity continues to rise, we will consider reimposing some of the restrictions connected to the green pass,” he warned.
The “green pass” system, which was implemented in Israel until a few weeks ago, granted access to certain activities or venues only to fully vaccinated or recovered individuals and to children not eligible for the vaccine who had undergone a PCR test within the previous 72 hours.
The coronavirus cabinet is set to convene at the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday evening to discuss the situation and possible new measures. The government is considering reintroducing the green-pass system for events or venues that see large numbers of unvaccinated participants, such as children, or vulnerable individuals, Channel 12 reported.
In addition, the authorities are reportedly thinking of again enforcing the requirement to wear a mask indoors, devoting thousands of police inspectors to oversee it.
“We want to make sure that what is decided is implemented,” Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) told Channel 13.
The government is also working on fixing the problems at the airport, including making sure that incoming travelers receive the results of the PCR test they undergo after landing, he said.
The Health Ministry reported 185 new cases on Saturday night, far fewer than the 323 registered on Friday, when it surpassed 300 for the second time since April, the last time being on Wednesday. However, only 40,000 tests were processed on Saturday, compared with almost 70,000 on Friday. As of Sunday at 6 p.m., another 213 new cases had been found.
Both Friday and Saturday, only 0.5% of the people screened tested positive. At the peak of the pandemic, thousands of new cases were identified every day, and the positive rate surpassed 10%.
While serious morbidity has so far been extremely limited compared with the past year, the last time 34 patients in serious condition were registered was June 6. The number of serious cases ranged from 23 to 29 over the past week. In January, there were around 1,200 seriously ill patients.
Currently, Israel has some 2,500 active cases, up from fewer than 200 in early June. About half the cases are in the education system, including some 1,160 students and 80 staff members.
More than 100,000 teens and preteens between the ages of 12 and 16 have been vaccinated against coronavirus, according to a Health Ministry update.
“In recent days there has been a very high response to getting vaccinated among youth,” the ministry said Saturday night, calling the vaccination rate “an unprecedented achievement.”
Some 570,000 children aged 12-15 live in Israel. About 55,000 of them have recovered from COVID, and some 110,000 have received at least the first dose of the vaccine.
Israel thought it had achieved herd immunity shortly before the Delta variant entered the country and led to a new spike in daily cases. To get the outbreak under control, more people have to vaccinate, according to Prof. Eran Segal of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.
“To regain herd immunity, we need to vaccinate as many of the 1.2 million over the age of 12 who have not yet been vaccinated,” he wrote on Twitter over the weekend. “Yes, it’s that simple.”
At last count, 5,636,389 Israelis have received at least one shot of the Pfizer vaccine. First shots of the Pfizer vaccine will only be available for five more days, until July 9, because the country’s remaining supply expires at the end of the month, and second shots can only be given three weeks after the first.
Israel had requested that Pfizer extend their expiration date, but the company refused. IIt is likely that around a million doses will be wasted if no other solution is found.
Israel had been in negotiations with the United Kingdom about offering them the soon-to-expire vials, but the deal fell through. However, Israel is in advanced talks with another country, Horowitz said.
The Health Ministry’s advisory committee for epidemic control and coronavirus vaccines was also scheduled to meet late Sunday night to discuss the possibility of administering a third jab or booster shot to people who are immuno-suppressed, according to a committee member.
Israel has been conducting research on the subject alongside several international researchers and the data was expected to be analyzed during the discussion.
Despite media reports, the committee will only make a decision on the matter if members feel there is enough solid research, the committee member told The Jerusalem Post.
"Right now, the direction we are going is to give people a third shot,” he said. “But it could be that there is not enough data, and the decision will be made to continue our research and make such a decision at a later date.”
Pfizer has not yet published any data on the matter, the committee member said.